Repairs
by peanutbutterer
Summary: Episode tag to 3.03 - Backstopped. Team.


Deeks pushes his empty glass toward the center of the table and leans back against the booth. "I wonder if Hetty will let me keep my parking space."

Across from him, Sam shakes his head. "You really that lazy? Can't stand the walk?"

"I had to park in the alley behind the minimart down the street!"

"Oh, man," Kensi says, finishing off the dregs of her beer. "Does this mean you won't be picking up doughnuts every morning?"

Deeks makes a face. "You think those are minimart doughnuts?"

"They're not?"

"Your palate is the least discerning thing I've ever encountered."

She rolls her eyes. "Besides your taste in women, of course."

Callen snorts. "You are aware that three-quarters of her diet comes prepackaged in plastic, right?"

"Kensi Blye's metabolism," Sam says with a grin. "The eighth wonder of the world."

"You guys are just jealous."

"I'm not denying that. You denying that, Sam?"

"No, G, I am not."

"But really, though," Deeks continues, "can I park there on Monday?"

"Yeah, you're right. You're definitely an alpha male," Sam says with a roll of his eyes, causing Callen and Kensi to laugh.

"I'm glad you guys are amused."

"Not nearly as amused as we would be if we'd gotten to see you stop a fleeing suspect with your face."

Deeks looks at Sam. "You told her? I thought we were partners!"

Sam shrugs. "Not anymore, man."

"Nothing's sacred."

"Didn't Marcos have security cameras at the back of his house?" Callen smiles over the rim of his glass. "I bet there's footage."

Kensi's still laughing. "Pun intended."

"We could string it together with that video of you falling in the canal. Make a 'Best of D-Unit' reel."

"You guys are so mean to me!" Deeks says with an exaggerated whine. "Maybe I can go have drinks with Hunter instead. Callen, you can keep Kensi."

Callen halts Deeks' dramatic exit with a hand to the arm. "Oh, no. No, no, no. She's all yours."

"I am not that bad!"

"G was green," Sam says. "Deeks must have an iron stomach."

"You mean my rock-hard abs? Nice of you to notice, big guy."

Kensi looks up from the pretzel she's desalting. "Sam has more muscle in his thumb than you do in your abs, Deeks."

"Obviously. But that's because his hand is bigger than my entire body."

"You callin' me oversized?"

Callen clicks his tongue. "I wouldn't advise doing that."

"I'm not. Definitely not! You're more like... imposing."

"Yeah?" Sam grunts. "Well, I'd impose upon you to keep your mouth shut."

"That's the second best idea I've heard all night," Kensi says.

"Chocolate-covered pretzels at the bar?" Callen guesses.

"Okay," she amends, "third best."

"The second being..." Sam prompts.

"A Deeks highlight reel."

"I knew it. You just want to have your own personal video of me so you have something to watch all night instead of those crap reality shows."

"Doesn't she already have a little home-video with you in it, Deeks?"

The pretzel in Kensi's hand snaps in two. "What? Oh my god. Ew!"

"Is that a no?" Callen asks. "I think that's a no. Someone's going to have to update the office betting pool."

Sam shrugs. "Well, we know she's not acting. If she were acting, she'd have run lines first."

Kensi's eyes go wide. "You," she turns to Deeks, "you _told_ him?"

"Was it a secret?"

She whimpers.

He puts up his hands defensively. "I didn't know it was a secret!"

"Wait, wait," Callen says. "I'm missing something."

Sam's grin is Cheshire. "Romeo and Juliet here _practice_ before they go undercover."

"No!"

"Oh yes. He's _method_."

"Kens?" Callen says, smile matching Sam's. "Booked an agent yet? I might know a guy."

She's positively mortified. "We only run through lines sometimes. And it usually doesn't even play out that way." She can tell they don't believe her. "I do it for Deeks, okay!"

Deeks shrugs. "It's a legitimate acting technique. Would you rather I went with Meisner? We wouldn't make it out of the car. 'You're sitting.' 'I'm sitting.' 'You're sitting.' 'I'm sitting.'"

Sam breaks the resulting silence. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Never mind, Kens," Callen says. "Just use Deeks' agent. He's clearly deeper into this than we thought."

She sighs.

"Hey, Callen, you speak Farsi, I speak Hollywood."

"I don't speak Farsi."

"Well, then, that's one point in my column."

Callen shakes his head. "You're really sticking with the idea that this is a good thing, huh?"

"I'm hoping you guys will come around."

"Unlikely."

"Yeah, figured. Points for trying?"

"I'd give up on the notion of points. You're really not getting any."

"At least Hunter likes me."

"He didn't mean _that_ kind of 'getting any.'"

Callen and Sam cringe.

"Kens," Deeks admonishes, "what have I told you about trying to be funny?"

"Nell would have laughed."

Deeks merely raises an eyebrow.

"Fine, okay," Kensi concedes. "Maybe not."

He tweaks her nose. "It's okay, pumpkin. We endure your company anyway."

She throws a pretzel at him.

"And now that we've devolved into a food fight," Sam says as he slides out of the booth, "I think I'll retire." He turns to Callen. "You staying, G?"

"And be forced to ride with Kensi? I think I've had enough of that for the next decade, thanks."

Kensi glares as they walk away.

Deeks pops the pretzel in his mouth. "You're lucky you've got me, princess."

"As sad as that is, it's kind of true."

"The sentiment warms my heart."

Kensi leans forward on her elbows. "I used to work great with G and now..." she trails off with a shake of her head. "It was awkward."

"Once you've gone D-Rock, you never go back."

She gives him a sideways glance.

"Don't give me that. You love my nicknaming skills, Fern."

"Sure thing, Shaggy."

"Yours, however, need improvement."

"Uh huh." She pokes him in the chest. "You going to confess how much you missed me or what?"

Deeks shrugs. "I don't know. It was pretty great working with Sam. I didn't get punched in the arm even once, there was no ridiculously loud techno music in the car, _I _got to be the pretty one for a change -"

She snorts.

"He didn't eat all my Twinkies."

"You don't have any Twinkies!"

"Because you ate them all!"

"You buy them for me!"

"Yeah, I do." He drapes an arm across her shoulder. "Aren't I wonderful?"

"It's a wonder I put up with you."

"See, comments like that lose their sting now that you've practically told me you can't live without me."

Kensi punches him in the ribs.

"Ow! Jeez." His arm drops off her shoulder to grab his side. "Can we stop by the hospital on the way home?"

She slides out of the booth. "How about I drop you off at the Humane Society?"

"That joke only works one time." He slides out after her. "I was almost neutered!"

"It's not my fault you look so much like a mutt."

"Please. I look like Justin Beiber. And don't even for a second think I don't know you're a Belieber."

"I don't even know what you're saying."

"Sure you don't."

Kensi rolls her eyes. "You're insufferable."

"I know." Deeks reaches for his wallet, pulls out a few bills and drops them on the table.

Kensi twirls her keys around her finger.

"Hey Kens?" He grabs one last fistful of pretzels, offering them to her as he comes up beside her.

She snags a few. "Yeah?"

"I missed you."

She smiles as they start walking toward the exit. "I missed you, too, Deeks."


End file.
